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name someone who is successful and you have no idea why


Kelly Ripa

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Reece Witherspoon. Maybe because she's not of my era but I don't get why she is considered a big star and a former "it girl".

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MAN IN THE MOON,ELECTION,FREEWAY,PLEASANTVILLE....REESE EARNED HER REPUTATION BY BEING AN OUTSTANDING ACTOR.

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Freeway was excellent!

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She is excellent in Election. Should have been nominated for an Oscar for that part.

The problem is that she occasionally seems to be that character (Tracy Flick) for real. But when she's taking the piss of that Type-A, 'lean in', sharp-elbowed persona, as she does in Election and "Little Fires Everywhere" (which was a brilliant put-down of upper/upper-middle-class white feminism and its failure to engage with POC), she's great value.

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Okay, point taken.

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I agree. While she's been in a bunch of great films, I don't think I've ever thought her performance wowed me to the point she deserved her IT girl status.

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Jim Belushi.

If it weren't for John, he would have no acting career.

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TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS IS A VERY ENTERTAINING FILM AS IS THE PRINCIPAL...HE IS DEFINTIELY THE LESSER OF THE BELUSHI BROTHERS...BUT HE HAD SOME DECENT WORK IN HIM...UNTIL HE QUIT WORKING TO DO A SITCOM AND THEN GROW WEED.

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At least he didn’t join in on the terrible Blues Brothers sequel.

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I kind of feel the opposite. I think it's *because* he's John's brother, he's often dismissed and overshadowed, rather than recognised as a reasonably decent actor. I watched Thief (1981) for the first time recently, and he's great in that, as he is in 1986's Salvador. Unfortunately, he arguably got lazy, and settled into comfy, undemanding sitcom stuff, rather than pushing himself as a serious actor or a comedy actor with more of an edge, but I do think he had the talent.

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David Bowie.

Not a shred of talent but became famous simply because he was oddly flamboyant.

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That's the most ridiculous statement I've ever seen on this forum.

Bowie explored so many styles in his music and he did them all perfectly.

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"That's the most ridiculous statement I've ever seen on this forum."

I mean, we're all entitled to our individual tastes, but, yeah, this has got to be up there.

Everyone else has, for the most part, cited someone who has made a minimal contribution to pop culture (give or take Reese Witherspoon, who I do think is talented, but certainly isn't Bowie-level talented). Bowie was NOT a name I expected to come up, and citing his name strikes me as provocative posing.

Like you say, he crossed through so many music genres between the 60s, up until his death, and mostly excelled in them all. Few musical artists have produced as many great singles or albums as he did (and his last album, Blackstar, is arguably up there among his best work).

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His opinion on Bowie reminds me of my dad in the 80's. My dad thought Bowie was a screaming faggot and he hated that I loved his music.

I think this guy needs to actually listen to Bowie.

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There are so many different iterations of Bowie, that it would be foolish to listen to one album and decide "I don't like Bowie". He was reinventing himself, and crossing into different genres, about twice a decade or more.

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Good point. If someone said "I hate Bowie" I would have to ask - "Which one?"

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The guy who fronted Tin Machine. 🤣

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Yeah, I never "got" Bowie either.

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🤦‍♂️

Damn! This has got to be the hottest take imaginable.

Bowie was the essence of talent. He's one of the few cultural icons who genuinely deserved their fame/had the talent to back up their celebrity.

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he had some great songs.

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Rebel Wilson
In Australia she was on some bad comic skit shows then a few later she turns up in Hollywood movies.


Ruby Rose
In Australia she was no big deal. A music show host and occasional guest on panel and game shows. No one seemed all that interested in her. Then she turned up in Hollywood as Batwoman but that success seems to be short lived.

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Adam Driver

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I agree.

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There's probably many, but first person that comes to mind is Diane Keaton. Although she's featured in some good films, she's not the most conventionally beautiful, charming or talented actress and, as far as I know, does not hail from a famous family, so I don't really understand how she became such a prolific actress almost immediately after starting her career.

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It's a controversial one, I suspect, but I'm inclined to agree. I've never been especially impressed by her as an actor (despite being a big fan of 70s, 80s and 90s Woody Allen films). Her acting range seems rather limited and annoyingly self-conscious. She always does this supposedly winsome, but actually rather distracting, daffy laugh which takes me out of the movie, where she's simply reacting to the other actors, as if she's in awe of them, rather than investing anything in her own character. Everyone was supposedly dazzled by her It Girl character in Annie Hall, but I never really saw the appeal, and, as much as I hate to say it, in view of the acrimony that emerged, I think Mia Farrow was a better muse for Woody Allen than Keaton (as much of a crazy kook as Mia Farrow may be, she's a *sincere* actor who genuinely invests herself in the characters she plays).

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I can't speak to her personal relationship with Allen, but Farrow was an excellent actor. That's the difference, Keaton isn't. But who's more famous for their acting? I don't care how controversial it is, being in great movies doesn't mean you're a great actor.

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Very true.

However fucked-up Farrow may be, I have to confess, she's a genuinely talented actor. She's absolutely heartbreaking in The Purple Rose of Cairo, and it saddens me to think that neither she nor Woody Allen can probably watch that film, and appreciate the brilliant work they both did on it, because of the intense animosity they clearly feel towards one another.

I really wish REAL LIFE didn't have to intrude on filmmaking. Why can't filmmakers do the decent thing and forego a personal life, and dedicate themselves EXCLUSIVELY to their art? That's what I'd do, if I were remotely talented.

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Lol because art is inspired by life. Also, because I'm assuming they made a lot of money. Lots of money seems to make living life unavoidable.

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Well, those films resonate with me (so, without being an abusive POS, I understand life).

Interestingly, Woody Allen has reflected on these themes in some of his movies. In the brilliant Bullets Over Broadway, he contrasts a moral but relatively mediocre and sheltered playwrite with a far more talented man who also happens to be a thug/a hired hood for a mobster, and Crimes & Misdemeanours is partly about how unjust the world is, and how talent and success is not always fairly bestowed on 'good people'.

But it's ironic that a man as perceptive as Allen should be the talented POS, rather than the decent, moralistic one. I mean, I can appreciate the themes and ideas in his films, but, I don't have the talent to translate my ideas and observations into *art* (see also Hannah and Her Sisters, in which Dianne Wiest's character has all the angst of an artist, but none of the talent).

For a non-Allen film on similar themes, there's also the excellent Amadeus (although both Mozart *and* Salieri turn out to be complete shits in that one, especially if you watch the full director's cut).

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Steven "Frankenmonkey" Tyler. The idiot just makes stupid repulsive noises into a microphone some 52% of the time. Then when the creature is pronouncing actual lyrics, it's usually repeated over and over. I swear I think all of their so called songs don't have more than 10 or 12 words tops. They make no sense from what I've heard. And his voice is just gross! Sounds hoarse and out of key. I thought people were expected to be good at something to get paid for it, especially to be paid well. My ears bleed when I hear they're garbage played.

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